U21s netball manager Forde: World Youth Cup 'different ball game'

It’s going to be "a different ball game in Gibraltar" for TT’s 2025 Netball World Youth Cup team.

So said national Under-21 netball team manager Vanessa Forde on July 14, after the Junior Calypso Girls successfully qualified for the September 19-28 world meet next year.

Forde was speaking after TT’s emphatic 61-39 win over Grenada in the third-place playoff at the Americas qualification tournament in Guadeloupe on July 14, which earned them the final Netball World Youth Cup qualifier spot from this region.

The top three teams gained qualification and after losing their semi-final tie against Jamaica, TT needed a win against Grenada to seal a place in Gibraltar.

Also qualifying were runners-up Barbados, who lost to Jamaica 54-29 in the title match.

“We are celebrating,” said Forde. “We really feel relieved because we felt that our team was a very strong one coming in. When we look back at the two teams that qualified, we felt that we were on par with those teams, and even better.”

TT had a wonder start in their Pool B matches as they disposed of St Maarten, hosts Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda to record three wins in as many matches.

In their final group contest against Barbados, TT fell agonisingly short, losing 45-44, and finished their pool in second place. This meant they would have to battle regional powerhouse Jamaica in the semi-final; unbeaten Pool A winners.

There, they lost 40-33 and locked horns with Grenada for a final shot at World Youth Cup qualification.

Forde added, “We held Jamaica for three quarters, beating them in each, and I think we got too complacent in the fourth and that was the result. I think the girls were tired and didn’t do enough.

“The Barbados game was a good one. (We) had a lot of unforced errors and also we didn’t understand what happened at the ending of the game as well. The girls were confused at the end of the last call and I think that disrupted the whole flow of things.”

Despite still gaining qualification, Forde said much has to be done between now and the start of the tournament in 2025 to ensure TT’s U21s make a lasting impression on the big stage.

“We are elated that we did qualify and from here on, it’s a lot of hard work, because when we go to Gibraltar it’s going to be a different ball game,” she said.

That tournament takes place at Tercentenary Sports Hall and Europa Sports Park.

Twenty teams vie for the top prize. So far, New Zealand, Australia, England, Fiji and the hosts are pre-qualified. Jamaica, Barbados and TT were recently confirmed and 12 more nations will gain qualification through the remaining four World Netball federations from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.